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Custom Robotic Furnace Loader

Custom Robotic Furnace Loader

BSE JOB 1749

This system automatically removes the same parts that were robotically loaded onto the front end of the furnace conveyor. Upon picking the parts from the conveyor, the robot places them onto the RP conveyor or the breakaway fixture followed by the RP conveyor. The tiles and puck are placed onto the return conveyor.

This station consists of a stand-alone frame that will house a Fanuc M-20iA/12 Remote A-Cab R-30iB.

The robot EOAT tool consists of a vacuum pick head capable of picking and picking the tile/puck and specialized EOATs for each of the parts. The parts EOAT features a spring load level compensating mechanism along with a break-away feature. A sensor confirms the EOAT is attached and in place. The emptied tiles and pucks are placed onto a take-away conveyor to transport them to the opposite end of the furnace for loading.

The stacked part S-4879 that is unloaded from the furnace has the potential of being stuck together and placed onto a fixture that will break them free of each other. Upon release, both parts are transferred to the RP conveyor and all other parts are loaded directly onto the RP conveyor.

The rust preventive “flood” conveyor consists of approximately a 42-inch long by 12-wide wire mesh conveyor. This conveyor is designed to flood the parts as they convey by using a low-pressure / high-flow pump with nozzles positioned below and above the conveyor belt. The lower nozzles create a bubbler effect that coats all areas of the parts from underneath. The upper nozzles create a curtain of RP that the parts pass through. Blow-off air nozzles remove excessive RP as they pass prior to being transported off the end of the conveyor. The assembly is contained with a sealed stainless steel containment to limit the migration of RP.

The work cell is designed to allow manual unloading of parts directly from the oven. An access door is opened while the robot has been placed in park mode and the system controls are disabled.

The robot controller along with a PLC w/small HMI are used for all programmable logic and will interface infeed conveyor part tracking vision system and the oven load conveyor.

SYSTEM FEATURES AND COMPONENTS

  • System to maintain a throughput rate of 600 parts per hour
  • Unloading part S-4879, S-4842, 4358 and 4892
  • Stand-alone structural steel frame
  • Overhead parts tracking camera
  • Fanuc M-20iA/12 Remote A-Cab R-30iB
  • Vacuum EOAT for picking the tiles
  • Specialized EOATing for part S-4879, S-4842, 4358, and 4892
  • Break-away EOATing w/ break-away detection sensor
  • Specialized breaking fixture to separate EOAT
  • RP flood conveyor with upper / lower nozzles and blow off
  • Total safety enclosure w/ (3) safety interlocked access door, designed for heat exposure
  • All robotic and station programming
  • PLC controls package with small HMI
  • Engineering development
  • Assembly, installation, debug, and testing